Knicks Trade Rumors: Reviewing Latest Chatter on 2024 NBA Deadline Day
The New York Knicks have less than 24 hours to decide whether their roster needs any more reinforcements.
The NBA trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, so it's literally now or ever for New York to make another trade after its late-December acquisition of OG Anunoby.
Things are predictably buzzing around the 'Bockers, so let's dive into the latest discussions.
Raptors, Knicks Disagree over Draft Compensation for Bruce Brown
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Bruce Brown was the principal player sent from the Indiana Pacers to the Toronto Raptors in the Pascal Siakam trade. It sure sounds as if Brown could be on the move again.
The versatile 27-year-old has a $23 million team option for next season, per Spotrac, meaning he's effectively on an expiring contract if his employer opts not to pick it up. That's what has made him one of this trade season's most logical candidates, and the Knicks are one of several shoppers with eyes on him, along with the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
The Raptors have requested—and been offered—a first-round pick for Brown, per SportsNet's Michael Grange, but New York and Toronto have disagreed on which draft pick it should be. The Knicks are dangling a 2024 first, while the Raptors are "holding out for a future Knicks first-rounder," Grange noted.
While Brown lacks a standout skill, he boasts the across-the-board skills of your prototypical glue guy. That's the exact role he masterfully filled for the Denver Nuggets during their run to the title last season.
Quentin Grimes Trade Talks Have Quieted
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Among all players to pop up on the rumor mill this season, third-year swingman Quentin Grimes ranked among the most surprising. Given his age (23), upside and the strides he'd made in his sophomore campaign, he appeared to be, if not a building block, then at least someone the Knicks should continue to develop.
But his role was reduced, his shooting rates fell with his floor time and he admitted he was having trouble finding his rhythm. So, through the lens of this campaign only, it wasn't entirely shocking when he did show up in trade talks.
Those talks have apparently quieted, though, as The Athletic's Fred Katz reported "momentum has skewed away from the possibility of a Grimes trade." The Knicks, Katz noted, have not been enticed by the offers for Grimes, whom they'd prefer to send out for "someone worthwhile for the long term."
Grimes, the No. 25 pick in 2021, hasn't completed his rookie contract yet, so New York is right to view him as a valuable asset. If that's not how the market has treated him, the Knicks should hang on to him now and perhaps revisit trade talks this offseason.
New York Could Take a Big Swing This Summer
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While the Knicks seemingly have the trade chips needed to make a massive move ahead of the deadline, don't bet on it. Their biggest need is a high-end, impact talent, and there just doesn't seem to be anyone of that ilk up for grabs.
That could change as early as this offseason, though, and New York is already preparing for the possibility.
The Knicks "are still eyeing the upcoming summer for a big-star trade," per Katz, and would "prefer to deal as little out of today's rotation as they can to make that happen." That's only possible if New York has other big-dollar deals it can trade, which is why it doesn't want to deal Evan Fournier, who has a $19 million team option for next season, for an impending free agent, per Katz.
That way if a star does shake loose sooner than later, the Knicks could include either Fournier or whoever he gets traded for at the deadline in their offer. Otherwise, they might wind up needing to include a player they'd otherwise like to keep to help this hypothetical star chase a championship.
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